Change is Scientific
by Mara Greengrass
Summary: Mystery crossover--Nathan Stark disappeared from GD and...


Title: Change Is Scientific

Warnings: One ginormous spoiler for Eureka: "I Do Over."

Notes: Eureka denialfic, plain and simple.

* * *

The last thing Nathan remembered was Carter's worried face, and wasn't that unfair. At least if he had to die, he could have gotten to see Ally one more time. But no...

Which brought him, inevitably, to the question of where the hell he was now.

His vision still clearing, Nathan heard a distinctively British voice say, "What? Wait...what?"

"That's what I want to know." Blinking away the last of the sparkles, Nathan found that the situation remained unclear. This sure as hell wasn't GD. If anything, it looked more like what he thought the inside of the Artifact might look like. Except...

A youngish man with wild hair, a brown suit, and sneakers stood in front of him, peering through a pair of tortoise-shell glasses that would make Fargo proud. "How did you get here?"

"Let me repeat: That's what I want to know." Rubbing his eyes, Nathan ran a quick mental inventory and decided that all his body parts had arrived...wherever this was...intact.

"All right." The young man stalked around him. "Let's start with the basics. Who are you?"

"Nathan Stark."

"Where are you from?"

"I work for Global Dynamics." Nathan watched the man closely, but saw no spark of recognition.

"C'mon, man, what planet?"

"What--" Nathan stared. "Earth." He'd been kidnapped by a crazy man? Carter would never stop teasing him over this one.

"Earth. I should have known. Why do all my problems seem to come from Earth? Why can't I just once have a visitor drop in from, oh, Tau Ceti Three and bring me peace, love, and harmony. But nooo, it's always Earth."

Nathan surreptitiously looked for an exit. "And you would be?"

"Oh. Right." The man whipped off the glasses and tucked them in a pocket. "I'm the Doctor."

"I have several doctorates. You'll have to be a bit more specific."

"No, I don't think so." The man, the "Doctor," frowned at him and Nathan found himself momentarily shivering for no reason he could discern. "This is really quite annoying. The TARDIS does have shields, and people shouldn't just be popping in like this."

"I'd be delighted to leave, believe me. I was supposed to be getting married this evening."

The Doctor froze. "No. No no no."

Nathan took a step backward, nearly bumping into a railing.

Pointing a finger at him, the Doctor said, "Please tell me you weren't marrying Donna."

"Donna? Who is Donna?"

The Doctor's relaxation was as sudden as his terror. Nathan wondered if the man was always like this, because it was tiring to be around. "But still, having a groom pop up on my ship is still a coincidence that worries me." He stuck the glasses back on his nose before turning to the bizarre console in the center of the room and poking buttons.

Nathan stood for a few moments, staring at the man's back, before stepping forward to peer over his shoulder. He wasn't entirely certain what he expected to see, but...he expected to at least have a clue how to understand what he was looking at.

But this...alien symbols mixed with a keyboard that looked like his first computer and switches and levers. Nothing labeled, nothing that looked remotely like something he could jury-rig.

And that was the worst moment of all. Nathan had never found himself in a situation he couldn't outsmart, either alone or with his team, but...

The Doctor peered over his shoulder, pausing in his furious movements to study him again. "Ah, so it's culture shock. It's always hardest for the smart ones."

"You're an alien."

"Yes. Two hearts, respiratory bypass system, and a few other odds and ends we needn't concern ourselves with." The Doctor turned fully around.

"Since you're so smart, perhaps you could start thinking about how to get me home. I have this wedding to attend, and I can't wait to see Carter's expression when I actually show up."

The Doctor rubbed his hands together. "Right, then. What year did you say you were from?"

Nathan felt his eyes narrow. "Pardon me?"

"Oh. Didn't I mention this is a time machine?"

"No. Somehow I suspect I would remember that." He crossed his arms and glared.

The Doctor gave him the worst innocent expression he'd ever seen.

Nathan resisted valiantly, but... "So, how exactly does that work?"

The Doctor grinned.

--end--

Final note: Stellar dust thought this should be called The Runaway Groom, but I couldn't quite bring myself to use that. You're welcome to groan at her instead of me ;)


End file.
